The Key of Life...

...I was going to do another cheesy song thing again and decided against it today, my singing is even offending me at the moment lol   Anyways, another day, another demo sample from my Melt Art telly shows on Wednesday.  This creation was the main demo piece on the 5pm show.  As with the 12pm show, I decided to go with this new idea I have had... not making an "original" piece for the demo... you know, where I do the "here's one I made earlier" thing.  So, I prepped up this piece and just went for it.  I am still convinced it makes things feel a bit fresher...  

The base for this piece is a bit of cardboard that I ripped off some of the top layer to expose the corrugations.  Ooh, I likes that word... corrugations... it kind of rolls off the tongue doesn't it?  Anyways, once I had removed some of the top layer I set about colouring it with paint.  Starting with Mushroom Eco paint and then adding smudges of Cool Peri and Pool Dabbers applying the paints with Cut & Dry.  I also coloured a mini canvas in the same way so the piece had some 3d-ness to it.  A piece of cosmetic tissue, cut to size and then stamped with the Heartfelt Creations Tattered Blossom stamps and a few CE Newsprint Flourish stamps, adding a bit of a background design.  I did the same with the sentiment... a single layer of cosmetic tissue and some flowers and swirls.  The tissue was applied with beeswax, I just love the way the wax makes the tissue disappear.. meaning you can get a stamped image perfectly onto the corrugations... mm, am so gonna be saying that word all day!

I made roses out of the Posy Patch flowers stamps and scrapbook paper and stamped and cut the Classic Leaves out and these were dipped into UTEE for the Faux Porcelain effect.  I dragged the metal leaves through the clear UTEE too so they get completely coated... loves this effect too!  The ickle Hat Pin was filled with Tropic Violet, Lapis Sapphire, Olympic Gold and Black UTEE.  If you use your Melt Pot lid as a template, pop it onto a craft sheet, draw around it, cut it out leaving a couple of flaps sticking up at the sides, you have the perfect way of lifting stuff in and out of the Melt Pot.  Placing the Hat Pin on the craft sheet in the Pot heats up the metal, then when you add the powders, they melt and you can swirl them around and make patterns... look at the colours in this...

I am back on the tellybox on January 21st... and I have a new-to-me product... you will be a wee bit surprised when you sees me using it you know... but I have to say... I lurves it!  Thanks for looking.. have a fabby day! TTFN

Hels x

Dream Keeper

...COR!! Blimey!!! And!!! THRICE!!!   BIIIIG thanks to you all for your amazing support for yesterday tellybox shows!  I loved reading all your emails and thank you also for those who sent in photo's of your creations, I loves seeing the stuff you make!  Three whirlwind shows and lots of happy peeps who are now sitting on their doormats eagerly waiting to pounce on Postie... for those of you who managed to get your goodies, well done and... have fun playing!  I should also add that a couple of people who phoned their orders through and missed out on the Owl Clock were reliably told by customer services that I will be back on screen next week with more MDF goodies... erm... I won't be, so apologies for that... but I will hopefully be back soonly with more MDF loveliness :O))

Anyways... being as I like to be organised (who snorted?) I always get my demo's all prepped up and ready to go... and always make sure I have more than I needs.  Well, the demo's for yesterdays afternoon and evening shows were all prepped.  And then the Owl Clock sold out.  And then the birdhouses sold out.  So, I thought I would do a Shadow Box demo instead... and then that sold out too!  Yikes!  I spent a bit of extra time in the studio and prepped up this demo for the 4pm show but we ran out of time so I used it for the 7pm show instead.

If you managed to catch the shows then skip this next bit as I am repeating meself (haha)  I used a large plaque that Grim had very kindly drilled holes in (I just do not trust meself with a drill... I can do enough damage with a craft knife, let alone something that spins very fastly and would probably smart a bit if it came into contact with a hand)  Starting by covering the plaque with Lake Mist Dabber and then once dried, overlaying the Trellis mask and applying Scattered Straw DI though it.  Next up I popped the Grid mask on and used Forest Moss DI through it, making sure the ink only went on it patches.  Finally, I added the Blossom mask and popped Walnut Stain DI though it.  Now, you can see the DI goes almost pastel when it is applied to paint... I love this muted soft effect.   A bit of stamping using the crackle Texture stamp and Jet Black Archival Ink... and then the finishing flourish with ... erm.. a flourishy swirl from the Swirls stamp set.  Zap the stamping with a heat tool to set the ink and stop inky smudges.... always a good thing to remember to do that :O)  Decoration was provided by stamping Funky Flowers onto the gorgeous Teresa Collins papers (Oh how I LOVE these papers... and they were so cheap too!!!)  As you know, I have a bit of an addiction to all things Studio 490 and I added some of the fabby Embellish Your Art pieces.  Voila, done!  However, the stamped word I popped onto the piece fell off on the way home... so I used Alpha Parts instead as they happened to be on my desk... I do love an Alpha Part you know :O)

So, what you got planned for today?  I am getting ready for my classes at Crafty Bunch in Telford tomorrow and Monday and then I shall be seated in front of Lionel Laptop and Skyping with Ellen... not sure we will get any art made today though as she has a much more important appointment at lunch time... one which leaves me Peeled Paint in colour.  Oh yesh, she is going to Queen's Ink (I LOVE that place, shame it is 3700 miles away!) and she is seeing ... THE Wendy Vecchi.  Green? Moi?  hell yes!!!   Thanks for looking, have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

Rustic...

...that's the thing with using cardboard... I think it makes arty stuff look rustic... which is a look I lurves, which is why, ahem, I seems to be using very lots of cardboard at the moment!   Anyways... todays post is showing a relatively quicky card... but deffo one of my faves from the samples I made for last Mondays shows.... and here it is...

Starting with an offcut of corrugated cardboard and tearing the bits away from the edges... and then spreading Soft White Texture Paste through a stencil.  Once the stencilled bit is dry, a quick pounce of Aqua Dabber on Cut & Dry foam... and then an edgey bit of Mushroom Dabber on the same bit of Cut & Dry so the colours blend nicely together.  Pouncing the paint means that it leaves a little bit of extra texture, which then looks fabby for the next step, which is to add some Gilding Wax to the cardboard base and over the top of the textured bits.   Using the same bit of Cut & Dry foam, I coloured a piece of cardstock, zapped it with a heat tool and then stamped the sentiment (Funky Flower Art - Studio 490) and remember, if you are using Archival Ink like I did, you needs to give that a zap with a heat tool too as the surface is a little shiny and Archival needs to be heat set.  I love the torn edge look, so that is what I did to the sentiment mat, which, I think, ties in with torn edges on the cardboard.  A simple matting onto black card and the addition of a couple of Embellish Your Art Roses, also gilded with the wax and voila, a quick and simple card.

As ever, thank you for looking... and don't forget to scroll down and check out the giveaway that I have running at the moment... which is simples to join in with too... all the deets are on the post below.   Right, time for me to get a wiggle on... have a great day!  TTFN

Hels x

Dreamy...

...and creamy... well, sort of creamy.  I LOVE this colour scheme!  Back in the old comfort zone of browns and creams!  Anyways... firstly, THANK YOU for all your fabby emails, comments, messages, Tweets, texts after yesterdays shows!  It was great to see you all loving the goodies on the shows.  I didn't get chance to do half the techniques I wanted to... time just goes waaaay too quickly... maybe I needs a two hour show ;O))   As promised, I will be showing you some of the samples close up this week and today kicks off with my favourite one:

Remember when I went to Wales a few weeks ago?  Well, there's a gallery in Portmerion and obviously, it is arty, so I ventured up 291 steps (ok, a slight exaggeration there... more like 20 but... ) and inside were some amaaaaazing paintings.  But, what caught my attention more (ever the crafter) were bundles of off cuts of mountboard!  10 pieces for a "parnd"  So I snapped up a few bundles and then made Grim carry my jazzy owl bag (well, he likes birds too... *snort*)  Anyways, the point of telling you this is... mountboard makes a fab base for art, it is great for book covers and pages, it is die-cutable (new word methinks) and because it is sturdy, you can paint it, cover with paper, cover with canvas etc etc.  I used to have a supplier when we lived in Lutonia, the old chappie in the picture framers used to give me bags of the stuff.. for free (I used to be the good citizen and pop a few bob into the charity box)  So, if you have a local picture framer, go and ask if you can save on their refuse collections and take some of their off cuts!  

So, on with the piece today... like I said (a hundred years ago) I like this one the best of all the samples I made... and this one was a "last minute" one using up some left-overs from my sampling sesh.  Yep, using cardboard for the arty bit, the mountboard is the larger piece at the back... that was painted with Pitch Black Dabber and then I added some Clear Texture Paste thru the foxgloves stencil and then smudged some Gilding Wax over.   The arty bit was made by spreading White Texture Paste through the same stencil and once dried, using Cut & Dry foam, pouncing Lake Mist and Mushroom Dabber paint onto it.  The script was added once the paint was dry.  Using Clear Texture Paste, splot a bit onto your craft sheet, spritz on some water to make it runny, stamp onto tissue with permanent ink (I used my old faithful, Jet Black Archival) and then apply the tissue, in patches, to the base.  Paint over the top with the runny texture paste mix... voila, a collage medium!   The embellishment is one of the gorgeous Studio 490 Embellish Your Art butterflies... I love this little guy and I added a few smudges of Gilding Wax to his wings to jazz him up a little. And there you have it!  I shall be back tomorrow with another technique using the Clear Texture Paste.

I shall away now, I have to unpack the boxes from yesterday, store the artwork (am so running out of room!) and then... I plan to try out my new steam cleaner (wow, what an exciting life I lead!) and then... there appear to be a large number of feathers decorating the lawn.  Apparently, someone fancied themselves a little pigeon snack yesterday.  No corpse has been found so we are assuming said pigeon managed to fly away.  My little Predator is getting ambitious!   Mind you, if it is the pigeon I think it is, he had taken to roosting on the lawn for some reason... roosting on the lawn of a garden owned by an AlfieCat isn't the wisest thing to do!   Anyways, hope you have a great day!  Thanks for looking... TTFN!


Hels x

Be My Guest...

...actually I am the Guest!  A few months ago, Lousie asked me if I would like to be a Guest Designer on the Calico Crafts blog.  Oh yesh, please!  I had a whole heap of fun getting very painty and embracing my inner altered self (I love altering things but I haven't had much chance in the last few months.)  So, I chose a papier mache book for my first piece.  All the deets and more piccies are HERE on the Calico blog, please do hop over for a nosey :O)) oh and while you are there, you might want to scroll down because there are some totes-amazeballs projects there to feast your eyes upon!  Here's a sneak peek of my project - I went all Christmassy again! 

I am scheduling this post to publish, I am reaaaaally hoping that it works, this new Blogger interface (ok, I have had it for nearly three weeks now) is still foxing me.  Not difficult to fox me at the best of times... I am sort of getting used to it but have lost count of the amount of times I have turned into a screeching banshee everytime I hit the wrong button lol   And the reason I am scheduling?  Well, I am up early early this morning because I am driving up to Coningsby to Jo Channon's Let's Create store for an in-store demo day.  I shall be playing with Distress, Studio 490 stamps, Art Parts, smidges of Grunge and Idea-ology will be thrown in for goodly measures too.  If you are coming along please say hi and introduce yourself... I love to put faces to blog and Facebook names.   Right, I shall away... I can smell dinner burning... again lol   Thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

PS.  New Sunday Stamper challenge tomorrow!  Another scheduled post... finger's X'd eh?

Simon Says... Be My Guest!

...Excited? Me? Oh yesh, indeedily.... very excited! And why? Well, a few months ago May, who is the DT Leader over at Simon Says Stamp & Show asked me if I would like to be their first Guest Designer. Of course, I needed time to think about the invitation.... and about 0.01 seconds later, I emailed right back and said... yes please! I am very honoured to be asked to be a Guest over on my fave challenge blog. All the deets etc for this weeks challenge are HERE along with all the cool DT creations and info on how to join in.



The theme this week is Tape It Up. I toyed with several ideas on what to make, I started out with a tag but it just wasn't big enough for the technique I wanted to use... so I altered a frame instead. On Wednesday this week a tutorial I have done for my entry will be published over on Simon Says Stamp & Show so I won't go into tooooo much detail now on how I altered my frame... but I can say that all the tapes, paints (whooops, was I supposed to mention that I used paint? *teehee*) I used are available at Simon Says Stamp.



Oh and... when you enter the challenge there is a chance for you to win a voucher to spend at Simon Says for $50. I will pop a link on my post on Wednesday so you can nip over to see the tut then :O))



I have an update about that Old Cad Mojo. He slunk home sometime during the night on Saturday and I am pleased to report that he is back to normal (whatever that may be lol) I had a mahooosive crafty Skypey sesh with Ellen yesterday... and Grim went and caught me out big stylee. So. We had been Skyping for about 3 hours and we decided to have a little refreshment break. Then we were straight back into more Skypeyness, for about 3 more hours. Anways, I hears Grim say that he had just had an email from Virgin saying that we were nearing our limit for the downloady-do-dah-thingy-wotsits (my words, not his, I can't remember exactly what he said, you know, like the teckernical speak) So, I am sitting there at my desk, with Ellen perched on the other desk.. (tis ok, she was inside the laptop so she was quite safe) Where was I? Oh yes, justifying our Skypey-ness. "We have Skyped for longer before" says I. "Well, that's what is says.... " Says Grim. And then I hears a little snort. Oh yes, he was indeedily winding me up. Hoooharharharhaaa.... yes, funny... erm... well, a bit lol


Anyways, I shall away. Remember Jerry the Gorgeous Springer? Well, he is bringing his Mummy & Daddy to see us this afternoon and he has a very swishy tail... so I am going to move everything that is in tail-swishing distance. I can't wait to see him, he is so gorgeous, those big soft eyes... ah, tis lurve. Here's Jerry looking very intelligent, I think he was just contemplating 11 down of yesterdays Telegraph crossword lol


Oh and I am cooking too! I have been frantically searching cookery books and yonder t'internet - I stoopidly said "Homemade Crumble and custard for afters" The crumble isn't a problem, that's a doddle, oh no, it is the custard. I can't make custard! Last time I tried it had the consistancy of day old concrete only with more lumps. Maybe I should feign a migraine and get Grim to make it instead (either that or open a tin rofl) Anyways, I needs to get moving... custard making skills to research and all that... Thanks for looking, have a fab day. TTFN

Hels x

M'Bossable...

...that new M'Bossabilities folder - the one with the labels... I love it! Tis called Framed Labels One btw :O)) The folders are so versatile - you get two different designs for starters and you get the inny and outty for them too... so you can really go to town and do some different techniques with them. Both of the cards were embossed using black cardstock, that in itself is very pretty - classy looking - but I added some Gold and Silver Dabber paint over the top, using Cut & Dry foam to apply it so it is nice and smooth and picks up the bumps nicely.


Cor blimey, I am late today aren't I? I started typing this post last night and then remembered that Celebrity Big Brother was starting and I had heard a little whisper that Julian Clary would be in it... so I watched... and got thoroughly suckered into it... I know, I know, junk telly and all that but hey, there's something compelling about human watching. And then I was going to blog this morning but I got distracted by Twilight. I am re-reading all my books at the moment, waiting on a few new ones publishing by my fave authors so the Twilight series is being read again. I love those books, can't help it.



And then yonder t'internet went a bit bonkers and I couldn't connect to Mr Blogger, it kept saying "Error 503" And then I was just about to blog again and the phone rang and I ended up yakking with Gillian for an hour and a half, of course, being naturally quiet and retiring, I did all the listening... snort. Right, I shall away, I have a little project I am working on that I want to blog tomorrow... which hopefully will be earlier than today lol Thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x

Here Are A Few Of...

...my fave techniques! Well, for followers of my blog of old, you will know just how fickle I am when it comes to having favourites. Oh yesh, they change on an almost weekly basis... one week I will be loving pink and pretty, the next week it will be green and grungy. Well, this week sees me loving all things canvassy and painty and textured. Caz came over for a playdate on Monday - in between all the yakking (obvs that was her, not me, I am very shy and retiring as you know......ahem....) and the cake eating (again, force feeding me Vanilla slices she was) oh and the Cheesy Chester Cheeto eating (yes, I actually shared them... positively unheard of I know...) Where was I? Ah yes: we made some art! In the form of an 8" x 6" canvas that I have had lurking in my stash for 219 years.



I wanted to combine my love of adding stuff and then painting over the top with my love of that paper blocking technique I am always banging on about. So, the idea was to cover the front of the canvas with the first technique and sneakily add in the second technique on the edges - it is a deep edge canvas so perfect for this.




As you can see, I am influenced by the marvel that is Ania (click her name for her amazing blog) and the paper technique from 2Gypsy Girls (again, click their name...) The base of the canvas had some die cuts and punched shapes popped onto it. I added on strips of canvas and lacy borders, layering all the pieces over one another to make them all look as if they should be there together. Next came the painting... I used Eco Paints in Birch, Stormy, Mushroom and Lake and added in some Kaiser Antique White paint in too. Using Cut & Dry to apply the paints meant that I could blend all the colours together nicely.


I aimed to get a lighter area in the centre of the canvas so the floral decoration popped more from it. Using DecoArt Texture Paste, mixed with a smidge of Stormy paint, I spread this thru a couple of Crafters Workshops stencils - the floral one is an old fave and the chicken wire is a new addition, how cool is that huh? Another new favourite. Before I got all exciteable with the decorating, I used some 7Gyspies Notting Hill papers to patch around the edges - these are GORGEOUS, Caz brought them with her and I smiled ever so sweetly and she very generously parted with some for me... the colours are perfect for my tastes at the moment, am all about the blues and greens at the moment! Once the papers were patched on, I gave them a swoosh with watered down paint (I just spritzed my painty Cut & Dry foam and smooshed it over) And then I used Ranger's Glue & Seal to give it a seal. The Stabilo All pencil shaded the raised bits - as ever I blended the lines with a babywipe.


The decoration is a collaboration of Prima flowers and paper roses, DewDrops, microbeads, metal embellies and that cute ickle Prima resin birdy. I coloured him with Distress Markers - this is a FAB technique I saw on the one and only Wendy Vecchi's blog (again, click her name to see her amazeballs art) Who would have thought that Distress Markers would colour resin and once dried it would stay put eh? I got ever so brave too. I keep seeing Ania's beautiful creations and know she used a black spray. I tried this once before and goofed up the whole piece which was fed to the bin. So. I got all my flowers together away from the canvas, spritzed Dylusions Black spray at them (yes, I was squeezing my eyes shut and cringing) and then to tone this down I gave them all a zap with Vintage Green Cosmic Shimmer... I love the metallic effect this gives when popped onto black. Knowing that if I spritzed again I could ruin it all, I quickly glued them onto the canvas.



Anyways... that is today's mahooosive post! Don't forget to hop over to Caz's gorgeous canvas... she has got a craft room you know, she calls it her Den... so I have re-named it to be the Den of Deliciousness. Ooh and thank you for all your lovely comments on yesterday's post (yep, click the words to go there) There's still yonks to enter the draw to win my card btw... just sayin ;o)) Right, I shall away, the "to do" list now has 297 things on it... I know, it started growing again! Thanks for looking.... have a fab day... TTFN!

Hels x

Sunday Stamper - Week 216 - Fields of Gold

Goooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy sunny (hopefully) Sunday to you all. Many many thanks for all the gorgeous entries for last weeks challenge... and many many thanks for all the new peeps entering, tis lovely to see so many of you having fun playing at my challenge! This week the theme is kind of Olympic themed (who watched the opening ceremony?) So, without further ado... the new theme is... GOLD. To join is simples: make a little something, it can be anything you fancy. Add in the theme and some stamping and then pop back here to leave me a comment with a link to the place you are showing your entry. If you haven't got a blog/photo hosting web thingy, you can also join in by sending me an email with a piccie attached (please can you make the pics small though, I had a few stuck because they were a bit big) or you can join in by using Facebook. The theme will remain open until 21:00 Saturday 4th August 2012.


My entry this week is actually a piece that I made during last Sunday's Canvas Creations class at The Stamp Attic - so all of the goodies I used are available from there. The base is an 8" square canvas board. I used a few die cut pieces of card/paper, some masking tape and some lace, popping it right onto the canvas and gluing with Cosmic Shimmer (as if I could use anything else, tis the best!) I painted it with a mix of Eco Paints and Dabbers, using Cut & Dry foam to apply it, along with some smidges of Gesso and Dabbers to break up the smoothness (if that makes sense)


Next came my fave bit, which is the Stabilo ALL pencil layer - going around the edges of all the raised bits and blending them with a bit of babywipe and a waterbrush... this smooths out the pencil lines and makes the layered bits really pop from the background. I used some DecoArt texture paste, mixed with a smidge of Dabber, and spread this onto the canvas thru a Crafters Workshop stencil and then sprinkled it with Gold Embossing Powder - I gently heated this and the powder melted onto the paste and gave me some more dimension.


The sentiment is stamped onto painted masking tape - this is a doddle to do and I love the texture of the masking tape - this was stuck onto paper and then cut out, edged with a Ranger Embossing Pen (clear) and then more gold embossing powder was added to give it a border. Oh and I stamped using Jet Black Archival - IMO the best black ink around. If you do use it, just remember to zap with a heat tool to set the ink - that way there will be no smudgy fingerprints to spoil your work.



Next came my other fave bit (well, ok, it is all my fave but YKWIM) The flowers. Naturally I have to add flowers because I can't seem to make anything that hasn't got a flower on it somewhere. These are a mix of paper roses/Prima's and other paper flowers I have collected in the past 381 years that I have been crafting. They were spritzed with Purple Twilight Colorwash and Vintage Cosmic Shimmer to add some extra colour and sparkle. Check out the ickle birdy! He is a resin birdy from Prima, I just spritzed him with more Colorwash, dried him til he got hot and then sprinkled gold embossing powder over him... and then promptly broke his tail off!! Eeeeek, I managed to glue it back on with a bit of superglue and you can't really see his injury now. Phew!


Right then, I had better get moving, I still have a Room of Stash that resembles the local tip.... time to get it sorted eh? Ah but, I do need to bust those cobwebs today, the spiders have had it easy for waaay too long... maybe I will do that first before tackling the Room of Stash (diversion tactics eh?) Have a fab day.... thanks for looking... TTFN!

Hels x

PS... hello to all you new followers! Thank you! :O))